First Impressions
by Little Tsu
Summary: With first impressions, either they end up good or they end badly. With this one in particular though, well, it was pretty much all over the place. Such is the life and luck of this Khajiit Dragonborn...Nothing is hardly ever of the normal or usual for her...


_Little Tsu: Ok, so a lot's been happenin' on my end, a lot of stress and even some bad things, so I had taken a hiatus on all my work, though I admit ta havin' at least posted up a few one-shots or somethin'. That's mainly due ta the fact that I'd actually already had them typed up for a while; jus' not published at the time._

 _Anyways, this is another one-shot, which might have other one-shots or a multi-chap or more followed after it. Also, don't think that I've forgotten any of my other already posted stories that are incomplete. I've actually got a few that are either halfway done or more than that, so they WILL eventually get completed and posted up. This is a new year so hopefully, I'll be startin' ta get my drive back._

 **First Impressions**

It was long into the night as everyone, save for a few Imperial Guards patrolling the streets with torches, were sound asleep within their warm beds. The sounds of softly crackling flames from the torches could be heard throughout the otherwise silent, chilled night.

As a male guard passed by one of the alleys, glowing lavender eyes flashed open within the darkness before the owner of them suddenly vanished with a silent shift in movement as they quickly scaled up the wall and stealthily moved along the rooftops. The figure hid well enough within the cover of the night with only the light of the moon peaking out from behind the clouds lighting up the surroundings in the slightest bit.

Upon landing atop possibly the fourth rooftop, the figure finally remained knelt down while a tail flicked about slightly from underneath the cape that cascaded down their back and resting around their slender shoulders. Though the hood resting atop of their head shadowed their features well enough in the night, the furry white tail that was dipped in black and had thick black spots running along it gave away the race of the being;...a Khajiit.

Watching as yet another guard walked by directly below them, they remained silent as death until they rounded the corner and their footsteps could no longer be heard. With a graceful and silent movement, the Khajiit leaped down from the roof and landed on the ground below. Making sure not to be caught, the feline shifted quickly through their side pouch at their slender waist and grabbed a lockpick. With a playful glint within their eyes, they took the pick to the lock before them and deftly unlocked the door before them with a skill as if it came naturally to them.

Triple pierced ears twitched faintly from between the slits atop of their hood at the sound of the successful click and the Khajiit was unable to hold in the grin that formed onto their muzzle before quickly slipping inside and closing the door behind them silently; narrowly avoiding another guard just as they had rounded the corner. Glancing around themself at their surroundings, their head tilted slightly to the side curiously as they thought to themself. _'Now...If this one were a chest-...Aha!'_

Spying the chest that they had been looking for, their tail couldn't help but to wag slightly in a pleased manner from behind their Nightingale Armor, though the hood lacked the mask portion; something about how they actually liked not having to fuss with it everytime they ate or drank. Upon kneeling down before the chest and pulling out the amethyst gem from their pouch, the chest was opened just enough to place the item within before closing it once more. _'There! Mission complete. Now N'jeku simply needs only to make her escape without being caught...'_

The Khajiit, now actually shown to be a female as the dying embers from the fireplace finally reached her and danced upon her lithe form, shifted on her feet to rise back up to stand, but that seemed to halt instantly when she spied something shift within a darkened corner of the room she was within. Tensing slightly and thinking it was a resident of the house she was in, the small feline's claws twitched the barest amount in anticipation. If she had been found out, then she'd have no choice but to quickly silence them before they alarmed the Imperials.

However, as she watched the shadowed figure from her place crouched down behind the side of the large chest, her eyes soon became narrowed as they silently vanished up the stairs. _'...Definitely not a resident...Their movement is too silent.'_ Getting curious, which was a bad trait of her's, the snow leopard Khajiit stealthily followed the mysterious visitor. Just who would be sneaking around in the same house as she? It couldn't have been another member of the Thieves Guild; she would've been informed of that.

Fortunately, or maybe unfortunately, she soon got her answer...

Just as she had arrived at the top of the steps, she watched as the shadowed figure pulled out a gleaming dagger and, in a fluid flash of movement with their hand, slit the sleeping occupant of the bed's throat; the death being instant and without a single sound uttered from the victim.

Eyes widening slightly in surprise at this, N'jeku took a step back to, hopefully, slip away unnoticed, but that was when the assailant straightened themselves up and turned their head to glance in their direction; faintly glowing slitted light green eyes locking with her own lavender. Cursing her fate at this, the slight Khajiit swiftly spun around and dashed off down the steps, bounding over the railing halfway down as she did so, and rushing out of the front door without paying any mind as to whether there were any guards passing by at the time or not. Fortunately for her, there hadn't been. However, her luck only ended there.

Quickly scaling back up onto the rooftops in an effort to avoid the Imperials, she chanced a glance behind herself, only to curse to herself once again at the sight of the assailant right behind her and slowly even gaining much to her surprise given how light on her feet and quick she was, herself. _'Curse this! This must've been a night for a bit of bad luck from Nocturne! This one knew that her luck was bound to slip up one day, but not in this sort of manner! What were the odds that N'jeku's mission would be in the same exact house as an assassin's?!'_

While silently freaking out over this and cursing multiple expletives under her breath, she finally made it to the gates of Solitude and pushed off the latest roof she was dashing across on as she landed atop of the stone gate and quickly dropped down on the other side. Now if she could only just make it to where her horse was at the stables, then she'd be home free!

...Too bad, that was not meant to be...

Not long after she had landed on the ground and dashed off, ignoring the startled yells of the two guards standing there on duty, did she yelp in a very cat-like cry of surprise as she was actually tackled from behind, sending both herself and the attacker hitting the ground and toppling over one another down the slop of the road. When the toppling finally came to and end, N'jeku quickly scrambled back up onto her feet and faced her attacker as she fluidly detached her fire and lightning dual enchanted Ebony Bow, Sahkest from her back and notched an Ebony Arrow within it; the weapon aimed at the being before her with her eyes narrowed. She was through trying to run away. If this assassin wanted to kill her, then they'd have to damn well work for it!

However, despite how N'jeku had her precious weapon directed at them, the attacker actually chuckled as they rose up into a knelt position. This seemed to only annoy her now as she hissed at the one before her. "What is so funny?! How dare you chase this one down and tackle her, only to suddenly laugh!"

Watching as the assassin rose up onto their feet, she finally actually took notice of their appearance since she wasn't in a mad panic and trying to escape. The one before her was an Argonian male with deep emerald scales with two large horns shooting straight back along their skull, a scar along the left side of their muzzle, and wearing a Dark Brotherhood uniform. Oh sweet merciful Nocturne, she had just crossed paths and pointed her weapon at a Shadowscale...

"By the priceless look on your face, I'm guessing you realize what I am now, hm?"

The voice was slightly deep, yet smooth and silky in a hissing sort of way that actually made the Khajiit flush slightly. That was a new one...Quickly shaking her head, she kept her bow trained on him, causing the Argonian to chuckle in amusement again. "Why did you chase after this one?"

"Well, why did you run away?"

"This one asked you first!"

"Hm..." Thinking for a moment just to rile her up a tiny bit, the male smirked faintly and chuckled again when he peeked back over at her and saw her twitching tail bristled in a flustered, irritated manner. This Khajiit was actually quite entertaining. "Well, you ran away after witnessing me killing my objected target. I couldn't very well risk a witness remaining alive and telling the guards of what they saw..." Scanning his light green gaze over her attire, he took in the detail of the light armor that seemed to hug every contour of her lithe and limber frame. The sudden shifting of her movement caused him to raise his head, only to spy the sudden blush dancing along her muzzle that possessed three claw mark scars upon it from what he could tell within the light of the moon that slowly began to peek further out from behind the clouds. "...I admit to have been wondering why a pretty little Khajiit was in the house though, but I see why now...You're from the Thieves Guild back in Riften, aren't you?"

Biting her bottom lip at this, N'jeku finally relaxed her bow and slipped the unused arrow back into its quiver before slipping her precious weapon back onto her back as well since the male before her showed no hostility towards her now. "That's right...This one is, indeed, a member there. Brynjolf is this one's leader since Mercer Frey had betrayed all of us...Course, he's dead now..." A spark flashed within her gaze for an instant and she knew that the Argonian before her understood as to what exactly happened to the man.

"Ah, that's good to know. Traitors are never a good thing to keep alive. They should be brought down as soon as possible to pay for their betrayal. Even those of the Dark Brotherhood understands this." Glancing around himself a bit, he silently motioned ahead of himself and behind her as if asking her to walk with him since they were literally standing in the middle of the road and even late at night, there could be others about. Seeing her hesitantly nod her head in compliance, he began to leave with her cautiously falling into step beside him, revealing just how small the little feline was to him; only coming up to his mid chest. "So, do I get a name or should I just call you 'Little Kitten'?"

That...earned him a glare from directly under her hood. "This one is **not**...little...Nor is she a kitten. This one is called N'jeku and she happens to be nineteen. N'jeku is a fully matured adult, thank you. And who are you? N'jeku has never met a Shadowscale before, but she has most certainly heard of them."

"Ah, that is because I'm actually the last of my Shadowscale brethren. You may call me Veezara." Shifting his gaze down without tilting his head, a faint smirk played onto his features at the flustered look that she tried to hide under her hood. However, he could still make out the faint tint of red upon her muzzle and the way her tail seemed to have a mind of its own actually gave it away too. It was a good thing that their two factions were somewhat friends in a sense. At least that's what his leader, Astrid had mentioned to them once or twice. Apparently, the two factions had assisted each other a few times in the past, thus making them on somewhat friendly terms with each other despite their differing tactics on how they did their jobs.

"Hey..."

The sound of snapping fingers in raised up in front of his face, snapped him out of his thoughts, causing him to glance down at the Khajiit that was now standing right in front of him with her hands moving to rest upon her hips. Just when had they stopped moving?

"We're at the stables now so this is where this one leaves you." Turning her back to the Shadowscale, the young thief walked over to the well built male Palomino waiting at the stables and directed him out before pulling herself up onto his back as she seated herself comfortably within the saddle. Stroking his mane gently with her claws while he snorted and clomped his left front hoof against the ground, N'jeku drifted her gaze back onto the assassin before her. He really was a man that sparked her curiosity now, but she wasn't about to let it lure her in. After all, she didn't have a death wish, even though her life as both, a Nightingale and the Dragonborn, did pretty much put her life on the line quite often...Especially, what with all the requests she picks up all over Skyrim and even Solstheim. Despite being a thief, she still liked to help others with problems they had, especially when coin was involved as a reward, and being a Thane in every hold actually helped her to get around easily enough even with the knowledge of her being a member of the Thieves Guild.

"Not sure if we'll ever cross paths again, but if we do then perhaps you could do some traveling with N'jeku."

...So much for not letting her curiosity lure her in...

"Till next time, 'Zara." With a slight wave and a faint smile now, N'jeku lightly nudged Frost behind his ribs, spurring him into motion as he jogged off down the dirt path to head back home first before returning to Riften.

Watching as the Khajiit disappeared into the distance, Veezara tilted his head down and closed his eyes as a slight chuckle escaped him once more. "...Such a strange Khajiit. I must admit that her range of reactions towards me though, were quite entertaining and it helps that she was actually a cute little thing for a cat..." As Veezara vanished into the night to head back to Falkreath Sanctuary, he couldn't help but silently decide to himself that he just might actually start making a habit of tracking down the little Khajiit just so he could see her again.

...Looks like both of their lives just got a bit more interesting...And all it took was a rather different kind of first impression...

 **End.**

 _Little Tsu: ...Huh...This actually came out longer than I'd thought it would, but hopefully, it wasn' bad. This is somethin' I thought of cause personally, when I was playin' Skyrim, I really actually wished I coulda saved Veezara and he had survived. I also wish he had actually been a romance option. I mean, come on. He's such a "lovable" Shadowscale! Anyways, more might follow after this with these two centered around them. It depends on if the viewers actually like this or not. Later!_

 _Side note: The name of N'jeku's bow, Sahkest is dragon tongue meaning 'Phantom Tempest' in case ya'll were curious._


End file.
